Liriano to the South SideTrade Deadline Deals Part 5

On Saturday the Chicago White Sox dealt for lefty pitcher Francisco Liriano from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for utility infielder Eduardo Escobar and pitcher Pedro Hernandez. The White Sox seem to be a good fit for the 28 year old San Cristobal, Dominican native. The Sox needed a lefty starter and by getting Francisco they will get a good combination of talent and experience on a fairly young team. Liriano is 3-10 this year but with 109 strikeouts in 100 innings, he will hold some value moving forward. If the right pitching coach gets a hold of him he could turn his career around. White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper now has that opportunity. In terms of fantasy value Liriano is nothing more than a spot starter right now but if you're willing to take the chance on him returning to his old form (2010 numbers) he is worth a small risk. I'm not buying into him being nothing more than an average #5 fantasy starter. He will most likely be outside my top 50 in next weeks Pitcher Rankings. Here's last week's Pitcher Rankings.

As for Escobar, he is now given the opportunity to fight for an everyday role at short. Hernandez had a 2.54 ERA this year between double and triple A but he was shelled in his first ML start on July 18th. He gave up 8 earned runs in 4 innings against the Red Sox. In that game he gave up 3 home runs (Adrian Gonzalez, Cody Ross 2). Escobar, who was backing up Alexei Ramirez for a majority of the season, now looks to get a chance at the starting role in Minnesota. Eduardo went 2 for 5 with 2 doubles in his last game as a member of the White Sox.

Can Don Cooper get Liriano back on track?

Chris Johnson to the Diamondbacks.

On Sunday the Houston Astros moved third baseman Chris Johnson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league Outfielders Bobby Borchering and Marc Krauss. This is the 5th trade the Astros have made this month. The Diamondbacks needed a corner infielder since they traded Ryan Roberts to the Rays this past Tuesday. The Astros acquired Matt Dominguez from the Marlins earlier this month in the Carlos Lee deal. Johnson should be the everyday third baseman in Arizona, he is currently hitting .279 with 8 home runs and 4 stolen bases in 93 games this year. If you are in desperate need of a third baseman I would give him a look but I would rather own Pedro Alvarez, Chase Headley or Chipper Jones.

The Brewers get a future closer.

Also on Sunday the Brewers sent catcher George Kottaras to Oakland for pitcher Fautino De Los Santos. Kottaras will split time in Oakland with rookie Derek Norris (making Kurt Suzuki expendable). In De Los Santos the Brewers are getting a guy who was thought to be a sleeper closer candidate for the A's before the season started. Fautino struggled in triple A Sacramento (Oakland) but the hard throwing 26 year old will get a fresh start with the Brewers. As of now he will be pitching in Nashville (Milwaukee's triple A affiliate) but he is a true back end of the bullpen guy who will one day close games for the Brew Crew.